Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to reduce the minimum age for bowel screening to 50 by the end of 2025.

NHS England is responsible for delivering the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening programme, including planning for the age extension in the programme from 60 down to 50 years old.

The age extension for bowel screening is already underway. NHS England started in April 2021 with the 56-year-old cohort and, based on modelling and clinical advice, has planned to gradually reduce to the age of 50 years old by 2025. This has been done to ensure that screening centres could manage any required increase in colonoscopy capacity.